


Her Names, His Promises

by DeadlyBingo



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Angst, Drabble, F/M, post 4x15
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-03
Updated: 2016-04-03
Packaged: 2018-05-31 00:55:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 564
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6449041
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DeadlyBingo/pseuds/DeadlyBingo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Oliver reminisces on the names he has called Felicity throughout their relationship.  From 'Felicity,' to 'hun,' to 'my love,' and even 'the future Mrs. Queen,' all of her names have held different promises.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Her Names, His Promises

Oliver had been hesitant to use a pet name at first.  Even weeks into their relationship, he would always draw out ‘ _Felicity_.”  He cherished being able to let the syllables roll off his tongue as he took his time, because he knew, for once, that they had time to spare.  Oliver reveled in the sound of her name, the sensation of it every time it passed over his tongue and between his lips.  He loved that when he spoke her name now, it meant something different than it used to.  It was no longer a title but a _promise_.  A promise that was his to  _say_ , to _whisper_ , to _moan_.

The first time he called her something different, it was by accident.  They were at a night market in Bali, only about five weeks into their relationship.  Felicity had gone toward a novelty stall to find a trinket for her mother when she and Oliver were separated by a group of locals.  He had called her name a few times, trying to grab her attention rather than shoving his way through the crowd, but she either didn’t hear him or preferred to focus on the important decision of buying the green or the pink bracelet.  But when he yelled it out, “ _Hun_ , meet me at the exit!” her head had spun around in surprise.  The smile that followed told him that it would not be the last time he used that nickname.  It was less than an hour before he was using it with more urgency.  They didn’t even make it to the bedroom.

They were in Ivy Town when her name altered again.  It had started as a joke, as Felicity’s reaction to something cheesy the Hoffmans had said over breakfast.  Her words had been dripping in sarcasm when she called him “ _my love_ ” that morning, but Oliver barely noticed; he immediately became obsessed with the phrase.  It was so fitting, so perfect.  She _was_ his love, the only woman who had ever taken his heart _so completely_ that he knew he could never give it away again.  So he kept using it, insisting that nothing else fully captured his feelings for her.  Eventually she stopped laughing in response.  And soon enough, he found that “my love” was the phrase, the promise, he whispered in their most intimate of moments.

He was supposed to call her _Mrs. Queen_ next.  He had dreamt of how the words would taste long before he got to say them aloud.  Some days it had taken an active effort not to let the moniker slip.  But once the engagement ring was on her finger, he tested the name out every chance he got, just waiting for the day he could shed the modifier of “the future.”  He knew that once the vows were exchanged, he would never take that name, that promise, for granted. 

But now… now _no names_ belonged to him.  He no longer got to call her _hun_ , or _my love_.  He would _never_ get to call her _Mrs. Queen_.  Even saying ‘ _Felicity_ ’ aloud, when he did get to speak to her, felt like an apology.  His heart no longer fluttered but rather clenched with each syllable.  He had lost the right to let her name bring him joy.  Now it only carried a reminder of the promise he had broken, of what he almost had.

**Author's Note:**

> More of my fics can be found on Tumblr at Deadlybingo.


End file.
